Hilda, Rosina and Almira (Weldon's Ladies' Journal, July 1897)

 To end the month, I thought I'd take a look at some Victorian fashions as pictured in the July 1897 issue of Weldon's Ladies' Journal.  In the 1890s, Weldon's named all of its designs.  Here we have Hilda, Rosina and Almira and their costumes.

Because Weldon's Ladies' Journal sold dressmaking patterns, the descriptions accompanying these illustrations were heavy on technical details.  Suffice it to say that a lot of interlining was involved (often in horsehair cloth) to achieve the shapes of those skirts and those sleeves.

As with all good fashion magazines, Weldon's had a lot to say about current trends. 

Australian Home Journal, July 1962

 In 1962 the Australian Home Journal was on its last legs as an independent pattern magazine.  In a few years it would start promoting McCall's patterns, and a few years after that it would switch its focus to interior decorating.  Meanwhile in July 1962 the magazine offered three free patterns: a blouse (in two views, both with ruffles), a simple shirtwaister with a slim skirt, and a skirt and jerkin sized for a 10-year old girl.

Unfortunately, by the early sixties Australian Home Journal was no longer offering fashion news and advice to its readers.  Fortunately there were plenty of other magazines taking up the slack.

"Checks, Please!" (McCall Fashion Book, Autumn 1941)

 If McCall Fashion Book can be believed, the "must-have" fabrics for coats in 1941 were plaids.  Every coat listed in its Autumn issue was illustrated in a plaid version, often with a caption pointing out how suitable plaids would be for making it up.

To modern eyes, these coats appear decidedly formal.  The writers of 1941 spent a lot of ink telling us how casual they were.  This, more than anything, tells us how standards have changed since then.

Shoulders were inevitably "well-padded", though "rounded"!

CLOTH OR FUR CLOTH
The casual coats all have an excessively casual appearance this season.  The nth degree of casualness.  They are bulky-looking, with wide sleeves, deep armholes, huge pockets.  Like all of them, this coat has the look of slipping easily over anything—dress, jacket or suit.  It has the new smooth shoulder, well padded even though rounded.

"French Fashions Reflect Events" (Woman's Journal, December 1939)

With war clouds gathering, there were plenty of "events" to "reflect" in late 1938.  However, the writers of a fashion column in a women's magazine weren't really interested in reflecting on them (in their Christmas issue, no less!)  Instead, they wrote about the latest designs from the great Paris fashion houses—including the fashions illustrated below.

The dress and coat that will lunch you charmingly in town then transport you to the country—still looking in the picture—are a difficult couple to find.  Molyneux's ensembles have just the right touch of perfect simplicity.  There is this pleated shirt frock of brick woollen, or the purple three-piece of a neat jumper suit beneath an equally neat fitted coat.  Very charming is also the beige jersey dress that shows its pleats under a delightful coat lined with moleskin and complete with hood.

From the mid-1930s to the end of World War II, Molyneux was a London-based designer, with branches in Monte Carlo, Cannes and Biarritz.  He began his fashion career working for Lucile in the years before the First World War.